INTRODUCTION
Instructions can be confusing. When my wife and I moved up to Cincinnati, we made a trip out to West Chester to visit IKEA to furnish our apartment. She liked this particular large, complicated entertainment unit. I was in charge of assembly. I followed the instructions as best I could and at the end I was supposed to put two large pieces together to finish the project. Well these two pieces did not want to come together. It became a battle of the titans. We struggled back and forth. At some points, it looked like the entertainment unit would be heading back to the store. But I am happy to say that I eventually won out, but as a result our entertainment unit has a few extra anger holes. And what happened. I followed all the instructions as best I could, but they were confusing. It is frustrating when instructions and commands are unclear, confusing, or seems out of reach.
PAUL’S CONFUSING INSTRUCTION
Paul gives us a command in Ephesians 5 that I think would confuse and ultimately frustrate most Christians today, in Ephesians 5:18, BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. This command seems out of reach and if attainable, then it is confusing for us today. It is confusing because we have two extremes in Christianity. One side overemphasizes the Holy Spirit. They teach things like one must speak in tongues or do amazing acts of healing in order to be saved. The other side talks about the Holy Spirit like we talk about distant relatives that have passed away; we mention them on special occasions but only for a brief and hushed period. We cannot fall into these extremes. But we have to carefully consider God’s word teaches on the subject. Paul tells us that as Christians we are to be Spirit filled. It is a command, but what does it look like and how do we do it?
CONTEXT OF EPH. 5:18
Before we can do that let’s look at the context in which Paul is speaking. It begins in Ephesians 5:8. Paul doesn’t just say you were in darkness or you are in light. No he says that you were darkness. That was your known characteristic. That is who you were. But now you are light in the Lord Jesus. That is who you are. Now act like it. And then dropping down to Ephesians 5:15, he tells us how to act now that we are light. Paul gives us three sets of commands. The first is be careful how you walk. Darkness walks unwisely. But you light walk wisely, making the most of every opportunity for the days are evil. The second is don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Darkness acts foolishly, but you light understand. Then the third, which is where we will and today, is (and this is a loose translation) stop getting drunk, it ruins your life. That is a way of darkness. However light you be filled with the Spirit. All of these are commands to Christians on how to walk as light on how to function properly. How can we Be Filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18)? What does it look like and how do we get there?
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE: SOULFUL SINGING (v. 19)
Before we learn the how to be Spirit filled, we first learn what it looks like. Paul tells us first that the Spirit filled life involves soulful singing. Have you noticed how singing expresses some of our deepest emotions, for good and for bad? I had a friend William, whose girlfriend broke up with him after a two year relationship. After this happened, I didn’t see him for about 3-4 days, so I went his dorm room to check up on him. When I walked in his dorm, on my right was a pile of dirty dishes, on my left was a pile of dirty clothes, and when I walked into his room, on his bed was an unkempt, unshowered, unshaved, pile of what use to be my friend William. And he was listening to songs about girls who break their boyfriends’ hearts. He found some comfort in listening to music that was expressing the pain he was feeling. Or on the good side, when I first start having faith in high school, I attended an FCA Bible study on Tuesday nights. There were 10-15 of us who met at Ozzie’s house. Before the Bible study, we had a time of praise and worship. One of the guys led it with his acoustic guitar. When I first showed up at this cozy, little bible study, I think I tried to out-sing everyone else who was there. I am a terrible singer, but I shouted it. Why? Because I wanted to show the heartfelt joy I had for Jesus and what he did. I wanted to sing about my freedom from guilt and my forgiveness in Christ. My emotions couldn’t be held in. In all times of life, singing reflects our very core.
(READ Ephesians 5:19). If you notice there are two people we sing to in this passage. The second we talk about all the time; when we come together we sing to the Lord. The first though we don’t give enough attention to. We sing also to each other. It is a way for us to encourage one another, to build up each other’s faith. When we come together as a group and sing, “Lord I lift your name on high” or “Amazing Grace,” that means something. We are saying something. Have you ever been a part of a worship service, when the music stops and the voices quiet, the goose-bumps run up your arm and the chills crawl down your back? There is a hush and all you can think is “wow, something just happened here.” Those experiences, that is a part of a Spirit filled life.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE: TOTALLY THANKFUL (v. 20)
The second view of a Spirit filled life we get is (READ Ephesians 5:20). Being totally thankful is evidence of someone who is Spirit filled. The text literally says here being thankful always for all things. Now surely that is a typo. Surely he did not mean it. But there it is for all things always. But Eric you do not understand what I am going though, you don’t understand how hard my life is. But that is what it says. I am not saying that it is easy and that I do this all the time, but it says that this attribute is evidence of a Spirit filled life. Paul is a great example of this. In Acts 16:25-31, Paul and Silas are evangelizing in the city of Philippi. Some merchants did not like this and had them thrown in prison. But before they go in there, they are first stripped and then flogged on their backs with rods. Their skin is beaten and opened up. Then they are thrown into the deepest, darkest, and dirtiest portion of the prison. What is their initial reaction? They sing and they pray to God, showing their gratitude. Compare that reaction to Israel’s back in the wilderness. Many sections in Numbers start like this (READ Numbers 14:1-4). The problem with this is that unthankfulness is the seed of unfaithfulness. On the other hand, gratitude is the seed of faithfulness. But do Spirit filled people do this, even during the hard times? I think this verse gives us a hint. “In…Christ,” we keep one eye on the cross remembering of what he did and remembering who we are and how we have changed because of what he did. He died on the cross for our sins that we might stand confident and guilt free in this life and in the life to come. And also, “to…Father,” God is our father he cares. Remember what Luke 11:11 says. And when God seems to be the farthest away, he might actually be closer than he has ever been.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE: WHOLLY HUMBLE (v. 21)
The third characteristic I see is being wholly humble (READ Ephesians 5:21). The idea of submission here is a unique one. This submission is not about who is stronger or more important. If someone is bigger than me and threatens me, I will probably submit. Or if my boss who brings me paychecks every 2 weeks tells me to do something, then I will readily submit. But this submission is not about that. We submit to one another, why; out of fear of the Lord. And this fear is not a slavish cringe. It is not a fear that flinches to an upraised hand, like someone who is abused. No this is a reverential awe for the one who is over the entire universe. For the one who created light with a word and the earth in a day. It is a fear that remembers how big he is compared to how small we are. It is a fear that remembers (Philippians 2:6-8). It is that kind of respect and that kind of fear for him that we submit to one another. In that fear of him, we don’t always get our way. We don’t think too highly of ourselves and we don’t think too low of others. This means not getting our own way all the time. And this means being Spirit filled.
HOW DO WE GET THERE?
So we have looked at these different pictures of a Spirit filled person; a Soulful singer, a Totally thankful person, and a wholly humble Christian. But how do we get there. It is one thing to know what they look like, it is quite another thing to become like that. Have you noticed how there is a big difference between your acquaintances and your friends? One of the big is that you sacrifice for your friends. I have a friend, Topher. We are friends and we make time for each other. He has taken Melissa and I to the airport when we needed a ride. I open up my house to him and offer him food and drink. We sacrifice for each others. Now the question I have for you all today: is sacrifice merely the evidence of Topher and my friendship or is it the means to a deeper friendship? The things we do for each other, are the result or the way to be better friends? I would say they are both. We are good friends because we help each other out and our helping is the result of our friendship. It is a two way street. Likewise, singing your soul out to God, being grateful in everything, and being humble towards each other is not just what a Spirit filled life looks like. No, it is also ways to become Spirit filled. So the question for us today is rather easy, is that what we look like and is that what we are doing? Are we giving our whole self to God in worship, in our joys and sorrows, or are we withholding ourselves from him. He wants our very core. Do we have a grateful attitude despite what goes on? That doesn’t mean we ignore when bad things happen, but that does mean that even when those hard times come, sometimes all we know how to do is turn to Jesus and still say thank you. I know you care, you seem far away, please come near, I thank you for this day. I thank you for your sacrifice; I turn to you with all my life. Or are the seeds of ungratefulness robbing our faith. Telling us the lie that life was better before when we were ignorant of our plight and ignorant of the salvation. And do we humble ourselves to each other, or is it always about me getting what I want? If you feel like the Spirit of your spirituality is gone, test yourself with this measure. If you feel like a flickering light give yourself completely to God in song, have a grateful attitude, and humble yourself to each other. Walk as children of the light for this is the Spirit filled life.
